18 Spine-Chilling And Mystical Unsolved Mysteries Of India Which You Need To Know Right Now

By Sanjay Gouda

Updated - Nov. 3, 2018
12 min read

India has always been a land of mysteries dating back to centuries ago. Mysteries that lead to question marks in capital letters in our minds. Mysteries that are difficult to explain. There are events, phenomena, and happenings that occur that probably have no explanations whatsoever. Let us take you through the 18 mystical unsolved mysteries of India which will chill your spine down.

1. Mystery Of Twins Village

This village is called the ‘Village of Twins’ due to the strikingly large number of twin births in the village. Not only that, whoever leaves this village and go to another place and gives birth they also end up having twins. This village currently claims to be having 200 pairs of twins.

THE HYPOTHESIS: Scientists say the strange reason for this is the chemicals in the water in this area.

PLACE: Malappuram, Kerela

2. Mystery Of The Floating Pillar

This temple is a well known archeological and historical site dedicated to Lord Shiva. A strange thing about this place is that one out of the 70 pillars this temple is built on hangs in the air. This pillar is standing without any support.

THE HYPOTHESIS: According to people, they believe amongst the many tricks temple builders of that age knew, this was one of them.

PLACE: Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh

3. The Mystery Of The Lifting Stone

A 70 kg heavy stone at this shrine has NO other way to lift whatsoever, except if 11 people in total gather around this rock, point their forefingers at it and name the saint who put a curse on the stone and that is when it levitates automatically. No matter what you do, there is no other way to levitate that rock except this one.

THE HYPOTHESIS: It is believed that a Sufi Saint called Qamar Ali cursedon this stone being used for bodybuilding about 800 years ago.

PLACE: Hazrat Qamar Ali Darvesh Shrine, Shivapur Maharashtra

4. The Mystery Of Door-Less Houses

No building, or place of residence, houses, shops or for that matter, even schools haven't any kind of doors on them and neither a doorframe. More than that, not a single crime has been reported in this village ever.

THE HYPOTHESIS: People of Ahmednagar, (which is famous for it’s Shani Temple) hold a strong belief in the powers of Lord Shani and believe that this is all his doing.

PLACE: Shani Shingnapur (35 km away from Ahmednagar)

5. The Mystery Of Snow Skeletons

Around 300-600 skeletons can be seen beneath the surface of the frozen Roopkund lake every year when the ice melts at this mysterious place in India. Radiocarbon tests and forensics date the corpses back to the 15th century AD.

THE HYPOTHESIS: The locals believe that the corpses belong to the then king and queen of Kanauj, who was going on a pilgrimage but plunged into the lake due to a severe hailstorm and died.

6. The Mystery Of Magnetic Hill

At the magnitude of 11,000 feet above sea level, it seems like the cars are pulled up at their own accord. It is believed you can drive here even with the car ignitions off and the hills will be pulling cars towards themselves. It is a small stretch of road located about 30 km from Leh towards Kargil and known as Magnetic Hill of Ladakh.

THE HYPOTHESIS: However, they say its an optical illusion. There is one of Gravity Hill which means that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope. Why it appears that way can actually be attributed to the obstructed horizon, either completely or mostly. What is also believed to be at work behind this mysterious phenomenon is a magnetic force so strong that it can pull cars uphill. Well, this is the scientific explanation. But as per the villages there believed it to be a path to heaven once upon a time, people deserving of it would automatically be pulled up to heaven while others wouldn’t experience this phenomenon.

PLACE: The Magnetic Hill, Ladakh

7. The Mystery Of Red Rain

The legend of red rain in Idukki Kerela mystified people. Also known as blood rain, it baffled people back in 2001. Such events are even unexplained through scientific reasons and render them so mysterious that they are marked in our minds forever. Apart from the fact that it was the usual monsoon time, this part of Kerela experienced rain in blood red color. It was also a very localized phenomenon occurring only over a stretch of a few km.

THE HYPOTHESIS: Why did it happen? There were multiple theories put forward.

CESS (Centre for Earth Science Studies) theorized that the red particles emerged out of an exploding meteor. But later, they rejected it themselves.

Indian Meteorological Department’s senior scientific assistant Mr. K.K. Shashidharan Pillai came up with an amazing explanation. Mr. Pillai noted that Philippines’ Mayon Volcano was erupting at the time when Kerala was experiencing blood rain. So volcanic acidic material was blamed.

It was also thought to be Arabian Desert dust. Another one of the explanations blamed extraterrestrial life. What exactly happened? We are yet to find out.

PLACE: Idukki, Kerala

8. The Mystery Of Suicidal Birds

Every monsoon, this place experiences a very bizarre & sad phenomenon. Over the last 100 years, thousands of birds have flown to their death over a small strip of land in Jatinga, India. Between September and November year after year, several migratory and local birds commit mass suicide at the village. Between 7 and 10 pm, hundreds of birds descend from the sky, plummeting to their deaths by crashing into buildings and trees. The phenomenon has captured the interest of wildlife circles and tourists, making the village of Jatinga world famous. What is most mind-boggling is that most of these bird species are diurnal and there’s no explanation why they would be flying at night.

THE HYPOTHESIS: The villagers have long held a belief that evil spirits hovering the skies are responsible for driving the birds to suicide. The birds are believed to get disoriented and disturbed when flying near the ridge, causing them to plunge to death. They are said to be mysteriously drawn to the light sources put up by villagers, and become too dazed to fly.

PLACE: Jatinga, Assam

9. The Mystery Of Visa God

We all know how tough is it to get a U.S. Visa. Lord Venkateswara is the deity here who is known as visa granting Balaji. It is one of the ancient temples near the banks of Osman Sagar lake. This temple is about 45 min drive from Hyderabad. Since few years this place has become one of the top pilgrimage destinations for truly aspiring US-visa candidates. The mysterious fact about this temple is that they do end up getting one. We don’t know if it is the law of attraction or actual Lord Venkateswara’s blessing, but this temple is already known as the temple of the youth.

PLACE: Chilkur Balaji Temple, Hyderabad.

10. The Mystery Of Ghost Lights

There have been many sightings of unnatural glowing lights of different colors hovering over the marshes in West Bengal. Referred to as ‘Aleya Lights’ for many years now, these lights are a nightmare for fishermen, as they usually end up confusing them and they would lose their way. In many cases reported till date, various fishermen have even lost their lives due to these strange lights. These marshes are some of the most mysterious places in India owing to this unexplained phenomenon. The Aleya Ghost Lights are officially a global phenomenon.

THE HYPOTHESIS: Scientists suggest that these lights are essentially ionization of methane over the marshes that form out of the decaying organic matter present in abundance in these bogs.

11. The Mystery Of Holy Rats

The Karni Mata Temple is infested with 20000 rats. People come from all over the world to worship these rodents. It is also known as the temple of rats because it is overrun by animals who run scurry through its stone walls. The rats are seeing moving freely around the temple sipping milk from large metal bowls.

THE HYPOTHESIS: The rats are seen as holy because legend claims that when the goddess Karni Mata’s stepson was reincarnated by Yama, the god of death, he also allowed all of the goddess’s children to be reincarnated as rats. Another version of the story suggests that when a 20,000 strong army fled to Deshnoke, a sin punishable by death, Karni Mata showed mercy and turned them into rats instead. In response, the army promised to serve Karni Mata in her temple forever.

PLACE: Deshnok, Rajasthan

12. The Mystery Of Gravity Defiance

A hall that goes by the name of Bara Imambara in Lucknow is one of the most mysterious places of India. It is an important place of worship for the Muslims who come here every year to celebrate the religious festival of Muharram. The bhool bhulaiyan here has intrigued travelers and architects for over 200 years. The history of the Bhool Bhulaiya is closely linked to the Bada Imambada. In the late 18th century Avadh was reeling under severe drought and to provide employment to his people, Nawab Asaf-Ud-Dowhala decided to build the Bada Imambada. The monument also stands tall at 50 meters in length but with no pillars or beams supporting it.

THE HYPOTHESIS: There are about a thousand such passageways and most of them lead you nowhere but another passage. If you get into the labyrinth, it is quite easy to get lost and might take a while before you manage to come out. There are so many people who get lost here. Apparently, a bid was made for the construction of the monument and every detail of this place was made very carefully.

PLACE: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

13. The Mystery Of Least Accessed Place In India

This territory is an area of dispute between China & India. Regardless of that face, it is also the least accessed area of India. There have been weird spottings of UFO and strange figures of humanoids. The locals in this area believe that it belongs to the aliens. There have been more than 5 sightings of weird undetectable objects here.

THE HYPOTHESIS: If it is a UFO, then by definition nobody knows the truth. It’s a high-security matter, that the government does not want the general public to know about.

PLACE: Kongka La Pass, Ladakh

14. The Mystery Of The Bullet Baba

This temple is known as the Bullet Baba’s temple and is dedicated to a person, Om Banna, who died in an accident 20 years agowhile driving his ‘bullet’. According to the people who come here to worship the odd god, when Om’s bike was taken to the local police station after the accident, it kept disappearing from the police station only to be found at another site each time. The news about this miracle spread like wildfire and the bike is now the idol in the temple.

PLACE: Jodhpur, Rajasthan

15. The Mystery Of The Immortal Flame

“Jawala Ji” is the name of Hindu Goddess in Hinduism. She is said to reside as an eternal flame since time infinity near a place called Kangra in Lower Himalayas, India. The mystical and astonishing fact about this flame is that it is burning since time immemorial.

THE HYPOTHESIS: The religious history telling that when Lord Shiva was in the unconscious state due to death of his wife Sati who threw herself in holy altar after her father accused Lord Shiva. Lord Vishnu divided Sati’s body into fifty-one pieces which fell on earth at various places. These places came to know as Shakti Peeths and where Sati’s tongue fell is Jwala Ji.

16. The Mystery Of The Abandoned Village

This town is abandoned and cursed (even the vegetation is limited). Once upon a time, it used to be home to Paliwal Brahmins. Kuldhara stands desolate and an uncanny silence prevails all around since 200 years.

THE HYPOTHESIS: All we know about this village is that all its inhabitants left the village to settle somewhere else and cursed the place so that no one would ever be able to settle down there. About 200 years ago, Salim Singh, the Diwan of Jaisalmer, known for his debauchery and unscrupulous tax-collecting methods, set his eyes on the beautiful daughter of the village chief. The Diwan was absolutely hell-bent on having the girl and he told the villagers if they came in his way he would levy huge taxes on them. Fearing the wrath of the Diwan, the residents of the entire village fled one dark night, leaving behind their homes and everything within them.

PLACE: Kuldhara, Rajasthan

17. The Mystery Of The Spooky Beach

People roaming around the beach hear whispers and voices from behind, but they obviously find no one around that could make the noises. The mystery is that there are a lot of people who disappeared on this beach.

THE HYPOTHESIS: The beach was previously a burial ground for Hindus, and thus it is full of spirits of the dead! Maybe it’s the theory that makes it one of the mysterious and haunted places in India.

PLACE: Dumas Beach, Surat, Gujarat.

18. The Mystery Of Friendly – Cobras

The spookiest part about this place is that every household in this village is obligated to keep a resting place for cobras. The creepiest part, NO snake bite has EVER been reported in this village. Snake worship is practiced here religiously. Turns out, the snakes are really friendly here.